Time and Space: Book One, the Beginning
by Sir Egg of Breakfast
Summary: What would happen if one night the Doctor landed in an ordinary house on an ordinary street and picked up a new companion? Rated K but may go up in later books.
1. Blue Boxes

Doc Seven Prologue

When you hear a noise in the dead of night you should most definitely, under no circumstances walk towards it.

Samantha Anderson knew this. She had seen it on horror movies countless times, sneaking back downstairs when her aunt wasn't watching to catch the ending. The person who wandered off alone was the first to meet some bloody, gory Hollywood style ending. If you went to check out the noise on your own, you were gonna be killed.

As she sat up in bed with slightly too large Pokémon pyjamas, she thought about it for a second. But the alternative was never knowing what the noise was. And that wasn't really a great option, either. She ungracefully fell out of bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and took a step forward.

 _Ouch_. Sam let out a hiss of pain.

Hopping around awkwardly she rubbed a toe, not noticing what she had stubbed her toe on. She paused and looked down, realization hitting her. And she picked it up. "You beauty." Sam told the torch. It was a plastic green torch and designed for a keyring. Flicking it on, Sam was momentarily blinded as a flash of white light hit her eyes.

"Oww…" Sam moaned. The adventure hadn't started well. Sam was tempted to just go back to sleep. It hadn't even been a loud noise, and school started again tomorrow.

Then Sam heard it again. A low pitched hum and footsteps. Slower than before she left her room, shining the torch a few feet in front of her. She walked on tiptoes past her Aunts room, but her aunt was always a deep sleeper and even now Sam could hear deep rumbles of sleep coming from her room.

Making it to the stairs she hopped down two at a time, and walked straight into the police box.

"Whoa." She muttered, staring up at the blue phone box. She remembered seeing pictures of it in the old photos her Grandad had shown her when she lived with him. "…and those were police boxes. You used to have a police man inside and you'd have to shout for them." Sam remembered thinking they looked like red phone boxes, only blue and bigger.

Sam walked round to the front and knocked because she thought it was the polite thing to do. Sam was still going to go in, because if no one answered then it wasn't like she was trespassing or anything, cause there was no one there in the first place. Sam reached for the door handle when-

"Oi! That's my ship!"

Sam turned. There was a man standing there. Sam couldn't really see anything- he was standing too far in the shadows- but he sounded northern.

"Uh…" Sam said, and then felt stupid.

"What's a twenty-first century kid doing in sixteenth century Paris?" The man asked, but he didn't sound angry. He just sounded curious.

Who managed to get London confused with Paris? Maybe he wasn't great at Geography. Sam could relate. "What's a strange man doing in my Aunts house in the middle of the night?" Sam retorted. Then remembered her aunt said you should be polite to strangers. It was possible he was a lost postman, delivering letters in the middle of the night. "This isn't Paris. This is where I, like, live." Sam said in an attempt to be polite.

A blue light shone in a circle for a few seconds. "Oh, so it is." The man said, and in the brief blue light she could see the outline of big ears.

"Who are you?" Sam asked. She wasn't sure if she should've started a conversation with that. Adults did a lot, but Sam figured it kind of wasted time. But there was a strange man standing at the foot of her Aunt's house stairs. If this wasn't a good situation to ask, she didn't know what was.

"I'm the Doctor." The man –the Doctor- said.

"I'm Sam. Sam Anderson."

"Nice to meet you Sam."

Sam looked from the Doctor to the elephant in the room. Well, police box in the room. "If you're a doctor why d'you live in a police box?"

"It's my ship, the TARDIS. All of time and space, and back in time for tea." The Doctor said, and he sounded impressive, standing there in the half shadow and casually bringing up time travel. "Oh. Okay." Sam said. Maybe she should have said something deep and meaningful, but it seemed too good to be true. Like, had he said time and space?

Sam began rambling suddenly. "Is this a dream? Like, no offence, but northern bloke turns up with a time travel machine. Ahh, this is a dream isn't it? And I've got maths tomorrow and everything…" Sam groaned. Of course time travel wouldn't exist outside of films.

"It's not a dream! Why do humans always have to see a reasonable explanation when there isn't one?" The Doctor said. He held up the glowing blue stick and the blue light. "The TARDIS is bigger on the inside. That seem like the kind of thing you find in a dream?"

"Yeah." Sam said.

"Fair point, actually. Wanna have a look inside anyway? If this is a dream it won't do any harm."

The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS and Sam hesitated for a second. If she stayed there was school, homework and getting up in the morning. If she went… what would happen? Was this even a dream? No, it had to be a dream. A weird, realistic dream. Sam decided she needed a pep talk with her subconciousness.

Sam followed the Doctor into the box anyway.

Sam had thought he had been joking. Or it was a reality TV show. Or there was some normal explanation for everything.

There wasn't.

The blue box was bigger on the inside. Sam stood in the door frame. She took a step in. She took a step back out, like a weird version of the Hokey-cokey.

The room was had a hexagon theme- hexagons on the walls. The room was a coppery colour, a bit steampunk-y and there was a console in the centre, which was lit up with a greenish light like a Halloween decoration. Bits of machinery covered the console. It was an alien spaceship- an actual spaceship. A part of Sam wanted to ask if it had warp drive.

"It's bigger on the inside." Sam said, feeling like it was a cliché. "Yep." The Doctor said, popping the P.

"So, like, when you said it travels the universe…" Sam said, her mind well and truly blown.

"Anywhere and everywhere." "Have you shown this to anyone else?" Sam asked, feeling like she might be the only person in the world who had been in the spaceship. Exhilarated, but a bit lonely, too.

"Yeah, a few." The Doctor said. Sam was overcome with curiosity but there was a sort of guarded look on the Doctors face that she couldn't work out so she decided not to ask. "Hey d'you have any shoes?" Sam asked suddenly, remembering she was barefoot, wearing Pokémon pyjamas and in an alien spaceship shaped like a police box.

If it had been a normal adult Sam would've expected them to give a sigh. A sigh that said _You really should have brought shoes but because I'm so prepared I have a spare pair, here, take it you unprepared, shoeless child_. The Doctor wasn't a normal adult though. "Yeah, course. You see that door? Third corridor down, door on the left." He gestured to one of the hexagon doors.

Sam hesitated a second. The Doctor hovered near the controls. "Do you always tell people this?" "Tell people what?" The Doctor looked confused. Sam was used to it. She had that effect on people.

"You know, like, say you're at Time Travellers Anonymous. My names the Doctor, and I have a time machine that travels in space. Oh, did I mention it travels in time as well?"

The Doctor laughed. But then he looked up. It was the same look her grandad used to have when he was looking for his glasses but then found them on top of his head.

"No. I don't always tell them that." He said softly.

As abruptly as flipping a switch he began to flip switches and turn controls with a manic energy.

Sam stumbled and reached out for support, grabbing onto some of the support railing that surrounded the console, not having a clue when or where they would end up, if this was a dream or not, and if she was ever going to find a pair of shoes.

 **Okay, so first half of the prologue. To be honest, I kind of think it isnt great, but Ive been trying to get it right since September, so Ive just gone for it. Reviews please! Constructive criticism please.**


	2. Its alive!

**Okay, so I'm gonna give some background info. Sam is nine years old currently, so I dunno if her POV is too annoying or anything -that's how it seems to me- but I was trying to channel my inner nine year old. So there ya go.**

 **Anyhow, that aside, cheers for all the reviews Ive had. This is my first time trying a series for a fanfiction, so if you think its bad, please use constructive criticism.**

 **Adios! :D**

Prologue Part Two:

Sam tapped her feet on the floor. She still wished she had a pair of trainers. A dark blue trainer struck her on the shoulder. It hadn't hurt, but as Sam looked around suspiciously she could've sworn something was laughing. But the only other person was the Doctor and he was busy being all Captain Picard.

Wait, what if the TARDIS was alive? It seemed like a cheesy thought, like on the old black and white films when people yelled _it's alive!_ at Frankenstein's monster, but it made sense in a strange way. Like having a single trainer appear from thin air. Or it could just be a dream, but Sam was doubting that because it seemed too real. Mad, but real.

The Doctor stood outside talking, but Sam couldn't see who he was talking to. Sam didn't get it- if he wanted to see someone, he could've called them. He lived in a phone box. A police phone box, though, maybe that was different.

* * *

Rose Tyler stood staring at the spot where the TARDIS had dematerialized. She felt like she had resigned herself to something she didn't want. The Doctor had shown her a brief snippet of the universe and she had turned it down…

No. She couldn't think like that. "Come on, let's go. Come on. Come on." She said to Mickey.

When she next heard the whoosh of the TARDIS she assumed she had imagined it. Until-

"By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?" The Doctor reappeared in the TARDIS doors, grinning like a kid at Christmas.

Rose made her decision. She turned to Mickey. "Thanks." "Thanks for what?" Mickey asked, confused.

"Exactly."

Rose kissed Mickey on the cheek and ran into the unknown.

* * *

Sam was amazed.

It didn't seem real. Like any second she could wake up back in Aunty Gwen's flat, or, worse, wake up in the middle of a Maths lesson.

Sam stood in the green glow of the TARDIS as the Doctor and the pink and yellow girl talked (If she had been surprised by Sam being there she didn't show it, which Sam liked).

"Right then, Rose, Sam, you tell me. Where do you want to go? Backwards or forwards in time. It's your choice. What's it going to be?"

"Forwards." Rose said at the same time as Sam.

"How far?"

"One hundred years." Rose said.

"There you go. Step outside those doors, it's the twenty second century."

"You're kidding."

Sam ran to the doors and peered out. "Looks kinda similar." It looked almost exactly like London, except there seemed to be less traffic. "Have they got hover cars?" Sam asked, wondering if the Doctor would notice if she tried to smuggle one home. "Nah. Bit early for that." The Doctor said, and Sam's dreams of owning a hover car ended as quickly as they began. Sam shut the doors.

"That's a bit boring, though. Do you want to go further?"

"Course! Yeah! Definitely! Time travel!" Sam said enthusiastically, her dream of owning a hover car coming back.

"Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the new Roman Empire." Sam stood on tiptoes to peer through the top window and caught a glimpse of a purple banner with a gold eagle printed on it.

"You think you're so impressive."

"I am so impressive!" The Doctor said, with mock horror.

"You wish." Rose laughed.

"Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go. Hold on!"

Sam stumbled and grabbed onto the bannister as the TARDIS began to move again.

* * *

The TARDIS stopped suddenly, causing Sam to whack into the TARDIS doors.

"Where are we? What's out there?" Rose asked.

Sam swung open the door and slowly walked out, excited, but cautious. She went down a flight of steps and a large shutter in the wall descended to reveal an orbital view of the Earth. Sam was freaked out- she hadn't felt this small before. She barely noticed Rose and the Doctor following out of the TARDIS.

"You lot, you spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future, and this is the day-"

He paused to look at his watch.

"Hold on."

The sun flared and turned red, like a warning beacon.

"This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world."


	3. Fake IDs

The End of the World Part One

The end of the world. The thing was, though, nobody was really panicking as far as Sam could tell.

Sam had heard on the news once about people who prepared for the apocalypse by hiding in concrete bunkers with a lifetime supply of Spam. They were scared and panicked about the end of the world even when it didn't happen.

But now it was the end of the world, people weren't running around and yelling. They just seemed to be chilling. Like, end of the world, no big deal.

 _Followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite_. Sam jumped when the computerized voice echoed around them. Sam was jolted back into the conversation the Doctor and Rose had been having.

"So, when it says guests, does that mean people?" Rose asked. "Depends what you mean by people." The Doctor said nonchalantly.

"I mean people. What do you mean?" Rose said.

"Aliens." The Doctor said, as casually as if he'd just said the time.

"Wait, Jar Jar Binks isn't here, right?" Sam asked worriedly. The space station had suddenly become more sinister. The Doctor laughed. "Nah. Don't worry."

"What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?"

"It's not really a spaceship, more like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn." The Doctor said.

"Lovely." Sam deadpanned.

"What for?" Rose asked.

The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the wall panel. He seemed to pause before replying.

"Fun." The Doctor said simply.

* * *

Space was around them. Through the windows, Sam could see space. Sam remembered a science lesson she had had once. Space was supposed to be empty- it sure didn't look empty, standing over the Earth. But it would be empty when the Earth was gone. Even though it was thousands of years in the future, Sam didn't want to see the Earth die.

"Mind you, when I said the great and the good, what I mean is, the rich." The Doctor continued, as though having a conversation about a planet dying was an everyday thing. Might be, for him. Sam half wanted to see if she could pick anything else up from his mind, but remembered how overwhelming it had felt last time.

"But, hold on. They did this once on Newsround Extra. The sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years." Rose said, and Sam vaguely remembered the special- the continents had shifted, but the earth still looked the same.

"Millions, but the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there? Gravity satellites holding back the sun." The Doctor said.

"The continents should've moved." Sam said, and then felt a need to defend herself. "It's just, cause, I saw that special too-" Sam inwardly cringed, it sounded like shed copied Rose "-and the continents should've moved and stuff, but it looks, I dunno, normal…"

"They did, and the Trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over."

"How long's it got?" Rose asked. "About half an hour and then the planet gets roasted." The Doctor replied.

"Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?" Rose asked hopefully. Maybe that was what the Doctor did- saved planets, like an outer space Batman. But without the cape.

"I'm not saving it. Time's up." Maybe not an outer space Batman.

"But what about the people?"

"It's empty. They're all gone. No one left." The Doctor said calmly. "Just us, then." Rose said sadly, looking from herself to Sam.

"Who the hell are you?" Sam jumped at the words. And stared at the figure. An alien- a blue alien, stood there, with golden eyes stood before them.

"Oh, that's nice, thanks." The Doctor didn't seem fazed, but Sam wasn't sure how he was going to explain this situation. Sam wasn't even sure how to describe the situation without sounding crazy.

"But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked. They're on their way any second now." The blue alien said, sounding stressed.

"That's me. I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation. Look. There, you see? Its fine, you see? The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose Tyler and Sam Anderson. They're my plus two. Is that all right?" The Doctor took a wallet out and opened it to reveal a blank piece of paper.

"Well, obviously. Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." The stressed blue alien walked off to a lectern.

"The paper's slightly psychic. It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time." "Like an outer-space fake ID?" Sam asked. "How do you know about fake ID?" The Doctor asked, and Sam wasn't sure if he was concerned or curious. Sam shrugged. "My auntie watches a lot of CSI."

"He's blue." Rose stated. "Yeah." The Doctor said. "Okay." That was another reason Sam liked Rose. She just accepted people as they were.

"We have in attendance the Doctor and Rose Tyler. Thank you. All staff to their positions."

When the people entered the room it was the first time it properly sunk in for Sam that aliens existed. The blue alien hadn't seemed like a proper alien -though he was- because he seemed too normal, just another stressed person trying to get their job done.

But the people that entered? Definitely alien.

"Hurry, now, thank you… quick as we can. Come along, come along." The steward muttered to the guests. "And now, might I introduce the next honoured guest? Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa." The steward began his introduction.

Trees? Had the steward called them trees? Sam wondered, looking in awe at them. He had said they were from a forest, so maybe they were trees. Except trees didn't normally walk and talk, outside of Disney films.

The steward continued. "There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, we have the Moxx of Balhoon."

Another blue alien entered, except that was where the similarities with him and the steward ended. The alien that had entered was sitting on some kind of silvery-Star Trek chair. "And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." The steward spoke. A group of black robed humanoid aliens entered.

"The inventors of Hypo-slip Travel Systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you." Sam was beginning to zone out at this point, and almost missed the last name call, only briefly glancing at a pair of reptilian style aliens. Like Godzilla, but not destroying buildings.

Jabe and the other two trees she was with –Sam had forgotten their names- approached the Doctor and Rose. "The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather." Sam wasn't sure what she meant by that –an awful image of some bloody limb passed through her mind for a moment- but luckily Jabe passed the doctor a plant pot with a shoot growing from it.

"Thank you. Yes, gifts." He began patting down his jacket. "Er, I give you in return air from my lungs."

He breathed in Jabe's general direction. For a second Jabe said nothing, and Sam worried they were going to be caught about how the Doctor had lied his way through that situation. "How intimate." She said. "There's more where that came from." The Doctor said. "I bet there is." Jabe replied, and Sam realized the conversation had become something more than just a conversation, like her auntie spoke differently to the men she went out with in evenings.

"From the Silver Devastation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe." A giant head was wheeled in, easily the weirdest alien Sam had seen yet.

"The Moxx of Balhoon." The blue alien approached them, as Jabe and co left.

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance. I give you the gift of bodily salivas." Sam barely had time to worry about the words bodily salivas before he spat in her face. Sam winced. Being spat in the face by a blue alien was new, anyway.

"Thank you very much." The Doctor told the Moxx. Sam waited until the Moxx of Balhoon had turned before she wiped the spit away, mouthing the word eww as she did so.

"Ah! The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs." The Doctor made a show of breathing over the grim-reaper like aliens. Wearing black robes that covered them, Sam thought of the cheesy cartoon grim reapers with scythes. Except these aliens didn't have scythes, but they seemed just as deadly.

"A gift of peace in all good faith." One of the figures extended a metal hand, where a large silver ball rested in it. The Doctor passed it to Rose.

The Steward started his speech again, with the air of a magician performing a final trick. "And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

A face was wheeled in. A face stretched on a frame was wheeled in by two men who looked like hospital workers. A thin piece of skin was stretched in a rectangular shape and lips and eyes were in the centre. A human trampoline. _Oh my god, she's a trampoline._ Sam thought, staring in shock.

"Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturise me. Moisturise me." Cassandra spoke, and one of the attendant raised a gun-like device and used it to moisturise her. Apparently, the last human left was a trampoline, obsessed with her looks and apparently a diva.

Cassandra wasn't finished boosting her own ego. "Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry. But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband? Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity."

Rose walked behind Cassandra as a fifties style juke box was wheeled in.

"According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!" Cassandra said, and even from a distance Sam could see she looked smug. "Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in thirty minutes." The steward announced, as music began to play from the juke box.

Rose fled through the crowd. Sam and the Doctor followed, but as the Doctor was intercepted –by Jabe, possibly, Sam didn't really look as she continued to barge through the crowd- Sam, being smaller, managed to follow Rose out the door and onto the wide, alien spaceship.

* * *

When Sam caught up with Rose, she was staring out at the growing sun through a window. Sam hovered for a second, unsure of what to say. "Er… you OK, Rose?" Rose jumped, and smiled when she saw her. "Yeah, it's just a bit weird, seeing all the aliens... they're so alien, you know? And the Doctor-" Sam didn't hear whatever Rose was about to say, because a young woman wearing a baseball cap and overalls rounded the corner. She was blue, like the steward and the Moxx (Sam resisted the urge to rub at the spot where the Moxx had spat on her, even though the spit had gone).

"Sorry. Are we allowed to be in here?" Rose asked.

"You have to give us permission to talk." The woman said. "Er, you have permission." Rose said. "Yeah, course." Sam said, surprised. Thing were supposed to be better in the future- so why did someone need permission to talk?

"Thank you. And, no, you're not in the way. Guests are allowed anywhere." The woman said. "Okay." Rose replied, and Sam was relieved they weren't going to be in trouble.

The woman went to a wall panel and unlocked it. "What's your name?" Rose asked.

"Raffalo." The woman replied.

"Raffalo?" Rose echoed, and Sam could understand why. It wasn't a common Earth name.

"Yes, miss. I won't be long, I've just got to carry out some maintenance. There's a tiny little glitch in the Face of Boe's suite. There must be something blocking the system. He's not getting any hot water." Raffalo explained. Sam vaguely remembered the Face of Boe as the giant head.

"So, you're a plumber?" Rose asked.

"That's right, miss."

"They still have plumbers?" Sam said, surprised. Shed assumed they'd have robots or something. But then, she had assumed a lot about the future.

"I hope so, else I'm out of a job." Raffalo said.

"Where are you from?" Rose asked. "Crespallion." Raffalo replied.

"That's a planet, is it?"

"No. Crespallion's part of the Jaggit Brocade, affiliated to the Scarlet Junction, Convex fifty six. And where are you two from? If you don't mind me asking."

"No, not at all. Er, I don't know. A long way away. I just sort of hitched a lift with this man. I didn't even think about it. I don't even know who he is. He's a complete stranger. Anyway, don't let me keep you. Good luck with it."

"Thank you, miss. And er, thank you both for the permission. Not many people are that considerate."

"Okay. See you later." Rose said, and Sam waved goodbye. As Rose and Sam left, Sam was thinking about how it was nice to find at least one person in the future who wasn't a diva trampoline or a creepy grim reaper alien.

* * *

"Rose? Sam? Are you in there?" Sam heard the Doctor from outside the room. Sam wasn't sure if she should shout to let him know, or wait to see if the Doctor came in himself. The Doctor entered before Sam had decided.

"Aye, aye. What do you think, then?" He asked cheerfully.

"Great. Yeah, fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper. They're just so alien. The aliens are so alien. You look at 'em and they're alien." Sam hadn't thought of it like that (being a watcher of Star Trek, the aliens could just as easily be people wearing costumes) but she could see Roses point.

"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South." The Doctor joked. Sam wasn't sure where the deep South was but decided now wasn't a good time to ask.

"Where are you from?" Rose asked.

"All over the place." The Doctor said which Sam thought was fair enough, the Doctor did live in a time and space machine.

"They all speak English."

"No, you just hear English. It's a gift of the Tardis. The telepathic field, gets inside your brain and translates."

"Like an outer-space google translate?" Sam asked. "Yeah, if you like." The Doctor said. That was so cool- Sam hadn't heard of another spaceship that had built in translate.

"It's inside my brain?" Rose said, and Sam had the impression she didn't think it was cool.

"Well, in a good way." The Doctor said hastily.

"Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind, and you didn't even ask?"

"I didn't think about it like that." The Doctor said, and Sam didn't think she'd heard him that serious before.

"No, you were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South. Who are you, then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?" Sam wasn't sure where the arguing had started, but as the Doctor and Rose stood arguing, she wished she had noticed the start.

"I'm just the Doctor." The Doctor said.

"From what planet?" Rose demanded.

"Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is!" The Doctor retorted.

"Where are you from?"

"What does it matter?" The Doctor snapped.

"Tell me who you are!" Rose shot back.

"This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me." The Doctor seemed fiercely determined to hide his home.

"Yeah, and I'm here too because you brought me here, so just tell me." Rose said, with equal determination to find out about the Doctor.

 _Earth Death in twenty minutes. Earth Death in twenty minutes._ The automated voice of the computer cut through the argument.

"Bloody hell. You two cant half argue." Sam blurted out, and then regretted it. It was the kind of thing her aunt said, meant to diffuse the tension, but usually seemed to make it worse. Luckily this wasn't one of those situations.

The Doctor and Rose didn't seem to take it personally, anyway. "All right. As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." Rose said, taking out her mobile phone.

"Can't exactly call for a taxi. There's no signal. We're out of range." Rose said. "Yeah, just a bit." Sam agreed.

"Tell you what..." The Doctor began, as he reached around to take Roses phone. He took out the silver wand –probably wasn't a Harry Potter wand, but Sam couldn't think of a better name- and pointed it at Rose phone. "…With a little bit of jiggery pokery."

"Is that a technical term, jiggery pokery?" Rose bantered. "Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery. What about you two?" The Doctor said, playing along. "Nah, we failed hullabaloo." Rose joked.

"Oh. There you go." The Doctor said, handing over Roses phone. Rose took it and pressed and few buttons and held her phone to her ear. She gasped as she heard her mother's voice.

"Are you really a Doctor?" Sam asked, wanting to make conversation and not listen in on Roses conversation.

"Yep! I gotta medical degree in Glasgow. 1888 or 2955, can't remember which year." The Doctor grinned, remembering something.

"If you're a Doctor why d'you live in a police box?" Sam asked, overcome with questions about the Doctor. She hadn't realized how normally the Doctor took everything- like nothing would surprise him.

"It's not a police box, it's the TARDIS. Best ship in the universe." The Doctor said proudly. "The Millennium Falcons better." Sam said stubbornly.

"It is not." The Doctor mock gasped.

"It is." Sam insisted.

"The Millennium Falcon isn't blue." The Doctor said it like it settled the argument.

Rose had finished her call and turned round. "Think that's amazing, you want to see the bill." The Doctor said.

"That was five billion years ago. So, she's dead now. Five billion years later, my mum's dead." Rose said, realization clear on her face.

"Bundle of laughs, you are." The Doctor remarked dryly.

Suddenly the space station shook.

"That's not supposed to happen."


	4. Automated Messages of Doom

The End of the World Part Two:

"Indubitably, this is the Bad Wolf scenario. I find the inherent laxity of the on-going multiverse…" The Moxx began as they returned to the room where the introductions had begun. Sam cast a wary eye in the Moxxs direction, just to check if he was going to start spitting at people any time soon.

"That wasn't a gravity pocket. I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that." the Doctor said, and as Jabe passed them he turned to her and spoke. "What do you think, Jabe? Listened to the engines. They've pitched up about thirty Hertz. That dodgy or what?"

"It's the sound of metal. It doesn't make any sense to me." To be honest, it didn't make much sense to Sam either. But she got the gist. Shaking spaceship equals bad news.

"Where's the engine room?"

"I don't know, but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite, I could show you and your wife." Jabe said, looking at Rose.

"She's not my wife." The Doctor said awkwardly.

"Partner?"

"No."

"Concubine?"

"Nope."

"Prostitute?"

"What's a prostitute?" Sam asked blankly. "Tell you later. Much, much later." The Doctor said quickly.

"Whatever I am, it must be invisible. Do you mind? Tell you what, you two go and pollinate. I'm going to catch up with family. Quick word with Michael Jackson." Sam suddenly remembered Cassandra, and decided she didn't want to be left out of this. "Hold up, I'm not missing the amazing diva trampoline." Sam said, as she followed Rose.

"Don't start a fight." The Doctor warned. "See ya!" Sam said, as she went off with Rose. It was almost enough to distract Sam from the Earths automated messages of doom.

 _Earth Death in fifteen minutes. Earth Death in fifteen minutes._

* * *

When they reached Cassandra, Sam was torn between wanting to poke Cassandra to see what happened and making a joke about Cassandra looking like a stingray. She didn't have a chance to do either, as Cassandra began a little speech as they approached.

"Soon, the sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die. That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy, down there. Mummy and Daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles Crevice. I'd have such fun."

"What happened to everyone else? The human race, where did it go?" Rose asked.

"They say mankind has touched every star in the sky."

"So, you're not the last human."

"I am the last pure human. The others mingled." Cassandra said snobbishly, and Sam wanted to reconsider poking her, just to annoy Cassandra.

"Oh, they call themselves New humans and Proto-humans and Digi-humans, even humanish, but you know what I call them? Mongrels." Sam was liking Cassandra less and less as their conversation went on. And she hadn't liked her very much to begin with.

"Right. And you stayed behind."

"I kept myself pure." Cassandra defended herself.

"How many operations have you had?" Rose questioned.

"Seven hundred and eight. Next week, it's seven hundred and nine. I'm having my blood bleached. Is that why you wanted a word? You could be flatter, Rose. You've got a little bit of a chin poking out."

"I'd rather die."

"Honestly, it doesn't hurt. And you, Sam." Cassandras eyes turned to Sam. Sam got the feeling she was being judged, and Cassandra wasn't liking what she saw. "Well, the younger you start the better, I say." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Right, yeah, cause it's not like there's anything more important that what you look like." Sam said sarcastically. Cassandra sneered and turned to Rose, expecting her reaction to be better.

"No, I mean it. I would rather die. It's better to die than live like you, a bitchy trampoline." If Cassandra was offended, she didn't show it. Then again, considering she was a face on a piece of skin, maybe she didn't have that many expressions.

"Oh, well. What do you know." Cassandra said dismissively, like they were no longer worthy of her presence.

"I was born on that planet, and so was my mum, and so was my dad, and that makes me officially the last human being in this room, 'cos you're not human. You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin. You're just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin. Nice talking."

Sam made a mental note to never get on Rose Tyler's bad side.

* * *

Sam was with Rose back in the corridor when she stopped to tie her shoelace.

It was this that meant, half hidden in shadow, the aliens didn't see her. But Sam saw them hit Rose over the head with something as she fell to the floor.

Sam was ashamed to say she didn't think of being a hero. _Don't look. Just keep walking, please._ Sam thought as the grim reaper aliens passed –with Rose, who Sam didn't know if she was knocked out or worse- and amazingly as they passed her not-exactly-a-hiding-place they either didn't look or didn't care she was there.

Sam had about two seconds to feel relieved, and then ashamed.

Because then she saw the spider.


	5. Keep Calm and Carry On

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.**

 _Follow the spiders… why couldn't it have been follow the butterflies?_

Sam wasn't sure if robot spiders counted, but the quote seemed appropriate. Sam realized, with a feeling of growing uselessness, that it would've been better to follow Rose and see where she was taken.

Sam groaned. This was starting to seem like less of an adventure and more like something she should add to her list of times _Sam felt useless and couldn't do anything about it._

The spider crawled a few paces ahead, its red light flickering on and off. It was inconsistent about where it went, starting on the floor and crawling up the wall and ceiling occasionally. It seemed like it was looking for something, but Sam wasn't an expert on robot spiders so she didn't really know what to make of it.

The spider sloped off, down a vent or something, Sam was too far behind to see properly. Running to catch up, Sam saw no sign of the spider. She kicked the wall in frustration. She couldn't even follow a bloody robot spider properly! Sam felt sick- she had no idea what had happened to Rose and on a whim had decided to follow the spiders.

 _Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending._

The announcement cut through Sam's thoughts.

"Let me out! Let me out!" The shouts came from a door to the left of Sam.

"Rose?!" Sam half asked, half yelled, although she wasn't sure if it counted when you yelled a question.

"Sam? Is that you?" Sam felt like doing a happy dance. Rose hadn't been killed, and Sam hadn't failed completely at being a hero.

 _Sun filter descending._

"Yeah! Are you OK?" It was a dorky thing to yell and Sam immediately regretted it. "Wait! No, you were kidnapped. You're probably not OK. Don't answer that!"

 _Sun filter descending._

"Anyone in there?" The Doctor said, as he ran round the corner. Sam had never been so glad to see him before.

"Let me out!" Rose yelled again. "Oh, well, it would be you." The Doctor muttered.

"Open the door!"

"Hold on. Give us two ticks." The Doctor said, using the sonic screwdriver on a wall panel. "It's gonna be OK Rose!" Sam yelled, feeling useless and wondering if this was what dentists felt like when they said something wouldn't hurt and then it did. Kind of like a fraud.

 _Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending._

Sam was really starting to hate the automated voice over thing.

 _Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising._

Sam started to like the voice over a little more.

 _Sun filter descending._

If Rose hadn't been about to die, it would've been almost funny, the way the automated voice kept having a change of heart.

"Just what we need." The Doctor said. "The computer's getting clever." The computer had turned into HAL from a Space Odyssey. Brilliant. Sam wondered if Jar Jar Binks would turn up, because it seemed like one of those horrible days where everything gets worse.

"Stop mucking about!" Rose shouted, sounding about as panicked as Sam felt. "I'm not mucking about. It's fighting back."

"Open the door!" "I know!" the Doctor yelled back.

"The locks melted!"

 _Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending. Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising._

"The whole things jammed. I can't open the doors. Stay there!" the Doctor said, as he turned to run. "Where are am I going to go, Ipswich?" Rose retorted.

Sam really didn't want to leave Rose. The last time Rose had gone Sam had felt like a failure for not even trying to help her. "Were coming back Rose! I promise!" Sam shouted, and ran after the Doctor.

* * *

 _Earth Death in five minutes._

Cassandra was feeling very pleased with herself. And why shouldn't she? As well as being the last pure human and clearly being the wealthiest on this vessel, her plan was falling into place. She had also managed to get rid of that girl Rose, who was almost certainly a pile of ash by now.

"The metal machine confirms. The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One."

"How's that possible? Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturise me, moisturise me." Cassandra said, priding herself on her acting ability and wondering what she should do with the money. She could treat herself, but looking this beautiful didn't come cheap. "Summon the Steward." The Moxx commanded although he sounded as worried as the other guests (to Cassandras amusement).

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." The tree –Jabe, wasn't it?- said.

"Who killed him?" The Moxx asked.

"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe. He invited us. Talk to the Face. Talk to the Face." Cassandra said, trying to shift suspicion onto the Face of Boe.

"Easy way of finding out. Someone bought their little pet on board. Let's send him back to master." The very person Casandra did not want to see spoke. The Doctor- he seemed too clever for his own good.

The Doctor put down the spider that Jabe was scanning, and it scuttled off to Cassandra and scanned her, and for one second Cassandra thought she had been discovered and prepared to make her escape.

Luckily the spider then went to the black gowned group. Cassandra was in the clear. What was that old Earth saying?

Winner takes all.

* * *

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!" Cassandra gasped. Sam stared at the Grim Reaper aliens- the Repeated Meme. It seemed over too quickly. Sam wasn't Sherlock Holmes, but she knew one thing; if it's over that quickly, it usually isn't the guy you think it is.

"That's all very well, and really kind of obvious, but if you stop and think about it." The Doctor said, walking over to one of the Adherents. One of them, maybe their leader, tried to hit the Doctor but the Doctor ripped its arm off. Casually.

"A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." The Doctor pulled off one of the wires dangling from the arm and the Adherents all collapsed.

"Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker." The Doctor said. "Go on, Jimbo. Go home." He said, giving the robot spider a nudge.

It went to Cassandra who didn't look too worried for someone who'd been found out as the Evil Mastermind. "I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed." "Coming from the trampoline." Sam pointed out.

"At arms!" Cassandra ordered, as her attendants raised the moisturising things.

"What are you going to do, moisturise me?" The Doctor sassed.

"With acid." Cassandra hissed. "Oh, you're too late, anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just as pretty face."

"That'd be a good plan if you weren't still on the ship. Like, did you skip school the day they taught Evil Escape Plan 101?" Sam said sarcastically.

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous." Cassandra said haughtily.

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money." The Doctor said, and he didn't sound surprised.

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last human, Doctor. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours." Cassandra said aggressively. "Ouch." Sam said, but she wasn't sure if the insult was aimed at her or Rose.

"Arrest her, the infidel!" The Moxx said.

"Oh, shut it, pixie. I've still got my final option." Cassandra snapped.

 _Earth Death in three minutes._

"And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? Burn, baby, burn." Cassandra said, and Sam was surprised she didn't add a _Mwa ha ha!_

"Then you'll burn with us." Jabe said determinedly. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate." Explosions echoed through the platform and Sam gulped nervously.

"Forcefields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband. Oh, shame on me."

 _Safety systems failing._

"Bye, bye, darlings. Bye, bye, my darlings." Cassandra said, and without even a Beam me up, Scotty her and the attendants were gone.

 _Heat levels rising._

"Reset the computer." The Moxx demanded, panicking. To be honest Sam would've been more worried if he wasn't panicking.

"Only the Steward would know how."

"No. We can do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, Sam come on. You lot, just chill." The Doctor told the aliens, probably the least chilled group Sam had seen.

 _Heat rising._


	6. Splat!

_Heat levels critical._

They stood on a platform. That wasn't the unusual part. The unusual part was the three sharp fans that spun in the middle of the platform.

"Oh. And guess where the switch is." The Doctor said. "Who designed this room?" Sam wondered, trying to think who would think it's a good idea to put a switch on the other side of three razor sharp fans.

 _Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising._ The Computer announced again, and Sam wished they had got someone to turn it off. Having a commentary to doomsday didn't really help the situation. The Doctor pulled a breaker lever on the wall and the fans slowed a little, but it reset as soon as he let go of it. Again, Sam wanted a word with whoever had designed the room.

 _External temperature five thousand degrees._ Didn't the computer have any positive messages? Like _Congratulations! You survived five minutes and didn't die!_

Jabe pulled the breaker and held it down. "You can't. The heat's going to vent through this place." The Doctor said urgently, and Sam didn't get why he was worried at first. "I know." Jabe said. And it was then that Sam did understand. Jabe was made of wood, and she would burn if she held the switch.

"Jabe, you're made of wood." The Doctor said. "Then stop wasting time, Time Lord." Jabe replied, determined. "Wait! I can hold the switch." Sam said quickly, and she was scared. Scared of dying on an alien spaceship billions of years in the future. But she was more scared of having Jabe die when she could've helped her.

 _Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising._

"Thank you." Jabe spoke, and it spurred the Doctor into action as Sam grabbed the switch.

The Doctor ran to the first fan, and it happened too fast for Sam to notice, but he made it to the other side.

 _Heat levels critical. Heat levels critical._

Holding onto the switch now was like holding one hand over a lit stove. The Doctor looked back for a second, then timed his run past the second fan.

 _Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising._

Don't let go. _Don't let go Jack_. Sam cringed. _Don't think about Titanic. Remember how that ended_.

 _Planet explodes in ten, nine…_

 _Oh, they had a countdown. Helpful._ Sam thought sarcastically. Then she wondered if she was supposed to be seeing her life flashing before her eyes. Wasn't happening so far.

 _Eight, seven…_

The leaver was getting too hot to hold. Sam tried to hold on. Just a few more seconds. A few more.

 _Six, five…._

The Doctor shut his eyes and walked past the last fan, just as Sam let go of the leaver. "Ah, ow, ow, ow…" Sam hissed in pain, staring at her blistered hands. Sam didn't know if she should feel heroic or whatever, but she kind of felt like she needed a hug.

 _Four…_

No! They hadn't failed… they couldn't have failed…

In the distance the Doctor stood still for a second, but then dashed towards the reset breaker.

"Raise shields!" He yelled.

If this was a dream, Sam assumed this was the part she would wake up.

If this wasn't a dream… well, at least she was gonna die wearing blue shoes.

* * *

Outside the station a force field rose, and the Earth below ended.

And those inside the station lived another day.

* * *

The Doctor, Jabe and Sam entered the observation gallery. The other two trees reached Jabe and began to question her.

Rose followed them in a moment later. "You all right?" She asked them. Sam didn't believe in Hollywood blockbuster style happy endings. But it didn't mean she wasn't relieved that everyone was OK.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm full of ideas, I'm bristling with them. Idea number one, teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." He smashed open the ostrich egg to reveal a small device.

"Idea number three, if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed."

Cassandra was beamed back in. "Oh." She said, and a lot of feelings were hidden behind that Oh. Oh, they didn't die. Oh, I failed. Oh, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave the ostrich egg behind.

"The last human." The Doctor said in disgust. "So, you passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join, er, the Human Club." Cassandra bluffed.

"People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them." The Doctor said, and as he did Sam noticed the Moxxs chair was empty. She suddenly regretted not saying more to the Moxx, now he was dead.

"It depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court, then, Doctor, and watch me smile and cry and flutter-" Cassandra began, with absolute confidence. But cracks were starting to show in her plan. Literally.

"And creak?"

"And what?" Cassandra said, confused.

"Creak. You're creaking."

"What? Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturise me, moisturise me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!"

"You raised the temperature."

"Have pity! Moisturise me! Oh, oh, Doctor. I'm sorry. I'll do anything." Cassandra begged. She was cracking apart, giving the impression a strong gust of wind would shatter her.

"Help her." Rose pleaded.

"Everything has its time and everything dies." The Doctor said firmly.

"I'm too young!" Cassandra said desperately.

She exploded. And it was a gross as it sounded. And as pieces of Cassandra splattered onto the floor, there was a finality as the adventure ended.

* * *

Pieces of asteroids floated past a giant red sun.

Sam stared out at the space. Space was empty? Yeah, she could believe that. Staring out into the gap where the Earth used to be.

"The end of the Earth. It's gone. We were too busy saving ourselves. No one saw it go. All those years, all that history, and no one was even looking. It's just-"

"Come with me."

* * *

They stood in the middle of a teeming crowd, passers-by taking little or no notice of them. It was insane. The world had died- and now it was just, well, still here.

"You think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete, but it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky. My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust before it's time."

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"There was a war and we lost."

"A war with who? What about your people?"

"I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own 'cos there's no one else."

"There's us." Sam said.

"You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?"

"I don't know. I want. Oh, can you smell chips?"

"Yeah."

"I want chips." Rose said.

"Me too."

"Thirded." Sam said.

"Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay."

"No money."

"What sort of date are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me. We've only got five billion years till the shops close."

Sam smiled and followed her friends to get chips.


	7. Waiting

A year is a long time by anybody's standards.

A lot can happen in a year. You can finish a year of school. You can find a missing poster of someone you know and be riddled with guilt whenever you see it.

You can spend a year looking for a blue box.

* * *

Sam wasn't worried at first.

The Doctor wouldn't come right away because he was a time traveller, wasn't he? They got dates mixed up like she got times tables mixed up. The first time she had met him he was in twenty first century London when he was looking for Sixteenth century Paris.

So no, she wasn't worried.

But she would be.

* * *

It was the second month and Sam saw her aunt flipping through a dieting magazine. HOW TO GET A FLAT STOMACH the title declared, in bold important letters. "Step One: Remove all your organs. Step Two: Moisturize." Sam muttered, thinking of Cassandra.

"What was that Sam?" Her aunt asked, using the `I really hope you didn't just say what I thought you did` tone of voice. Sam supposed there was some weirdness that couldn't go unheard. "Uh…" A good start to the lie. "Just, you know, saying what a beautiful day it is. Birds tweeting, sun shining…" The sky outside was a dull grey, foreshadowing rain. It was about as far away from sun as it was possible to be.

"Hmm." Her aunt replied, already fully re-focused on the article.

Sam sighed and hoped she would hear the TARDIS any second now.

* * *

When Sam first saw the missing poster she was waiting after school in the playground.

It was the third month after leaving the Doctor. She was hanging around, waiting for her aunt to take her home and she saw it.

The poster was a missing persons one. _ROSE TYLER has been missing from her home on the Powell Estate since 6th March 2005._

Sam stared. And stared. There was a number under the text and Sam thought about calling but what could she say? _Oh, hi, I know your daughter. She's with a man with a police box and travelling the universe. Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine. Oh, did I mention she was with an alien time traveller?_

It wouldn't work.

And that was the worst part.

* * *

In the fourth month Sam thought about the last time she had seen the Doctor.

They had had chips. Which was the main thing Sam remembered, that and the Doctor saying he didn't carry money. They had been good chips.

Sam had decided to leave. To go home, just to get some stuff and let her aunt know where she was going. It had seemed like the responsible thing to do.

 _"…You're coming back, right? Please?" Sam asked nervously. "Course I am! Don't worry." The Doctor said reassuringly. "Fifteen minutes, yeah?" Sam said worriedly. "I'm coming back Sam. Promise."_

But four months later? At first Sam thought he had forgotten. But now she thought maybe he didn't _want_ to come back.


	8. Deciding

By the fifth month Sam had decided to draw.

It helped to draw the pictures down, to try to remember. Some of the drawings were that of a small child- one of Cassandra was just a smiley face in a rectangle. Some of them were slightly better than small child's drawings, so Sam kept at it, and tried hard not to forget about the Doctor. Or the aliens. Or the TARDIS. Or how much better it had felt to be travelling the stars than stuck at school.

* * *

Sam met Mickey Smith six months after leaving the Doctor.

It was June, the start of the holidays and Sam had begun to spend more and more time searching for the TARDIS. She had told her aunt she was going to the park- which wasn't technically a lie cause she had headed off in that direction- but had walked until she was lost.

Turns out wondering around London alone looking for a blue box maybe wasn't the best plan after all. Who knew?

The sky had rapidly turned dark, and with it the shadows grew lengthening until anything could be hidden in them. _Oh, wow, think about the creepy shadows. That'll help._ Sam thought sarcastically, although it didn't make her feel any better about how a) There was no sign of the TARDIS, b) The shadows were still there and very creepy. Squinting in the orange glow cast by a streetlight, Sam stared into the darkness when-

"Argh!" Sam screamed, but she hoped she did it in a very heroic way. "Argh!" The figure screamed back.

Okay. That was a bit more reassuring, because murders didn't usually scream back.

"Doctor?!" Sam half asked, half yelled. She hoped it could be him. Maybe he liked to wander around places at night. It wouldn't be the strangest thing about the Doctor.

"I'm not the Doctor. I'm Mickey. Mickey Smith."

"Shouldn't it be the other way round? You know, like Bond, James Bond. And I'm Sam." "D'you know the Doctor?" Sam said after about half a second, her excitement at maybe seeing the Doctor again building.

Mickey scowled. "Yeah. I did." He didn't sound like he was going to elaborate. "What about Rose?" Sam asked, and she had the impression Mickey didn't like the Doctor. But this was the closest thing shed had to contact with the Doctor since six months ago. Sam realized she had basically become obsessed with trying to find the Doctor. Which probably wasn't healthy.

"She left me." Mickey said bitterly. "Uh." Sam said, and didn't have a clue what to say.

And then she did. "I've been looking for the Doctor for a while and I dunno if you could help that'd be great because I know this entire situation is really weird but I need help trying to find them –not like this is stalking or anything but it _is_ really close I guess- but can you help?" Sam rambled nervously. "Uh, yeah I guess." Mickey said and Sam supposed she had taken him by surprise. The sign on the wall took her by surprise too- the street was a block from where she lived. Sam mentally face palmed. "Right. I, er, I need to go…" Sam said, and ran off, hoping really hard her aunt would not be home and not know she had been wandering the streets at night. Sam hoped it would turn out alright.

Not brilliant. Just OK. OK was good.

* * *

The Seventh month was Sam's birthday.

The 31st July.

It wasn't exactly a happy birthday.

"…And you're nine years old for God's sake! Anything could have happened! What were you _thinking?!_ "Her aunt said, and although she spoke at normal volume every word she spoke seemed to hammer into Sam's head. They had been having this conversation for around a month and a bit.

"I'm sorry." Sam said for the thousandth time. And it wasn't apologizing that bothered her- she _was_ sorry. It was just how her aunt only listened to the bad stuff, not the good. Like, say Sam passed a test at school. All she got was _That's nice dear_. Sam did something like this? It went on for a month.

Okay, so it had been a stupid idea.

Okay, so her aunt had a point.

But still.

"Half eleven at night! What were you doing at _half past eleven?_..." Her aunt continued.

"I'm sorry." Sam said again miserably. But whether she was talking to herself or her aunt, she didn't know.

* * *

The eighth month was spent researching.

Like studying, only it was something Sam wanted to do if it meant she had a chance of finding the Doctor.

She was with Mickey in his flat, looking up the Doctor online. Turns out there was more than you thought, and using the internet and various history books they had found out a lot about the Doctor.

Some words kept appearing- like UNIT. Some words only came up once or twice.

But the thing that was always there?

A list of the dead.

* * *

In September, the ninth month, there was a new student at school.

The student at the front of the class had blonde hair, brown eyes and had glasses, which he kept pushing back up his nose like they might fall off. That was about all Sam paid attention to, before laying her head on the desk and staring out the window in search of blue boxes.

Sam wondered if there was actually a point. It was September now, and the Doctor wasn't coming back. Sam wondered if he had actually intended on coming back- maybe he just wanted to get rid of some annoying kid who'd followed him. But the Doctor hadn't seemed like that, so maybe-

"Sam? Sam? Are you awake, Sam?" Miss Wright -teacher of many students, drinker of lots of coffee- asked. "…Not asleep miss. My eyes are resting." Sam muttered, half asleep.

Miss Wright smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes and Sam had the impression she'd rather be watching Downton Abbey with a bottle of wine than tending to a class of Year Sixes. "Well, there's a spare seat next to you. Daniel, would you like to sit there?" Miss Wright said very slowly, pronouncing each syllable with emphasis like they couldn't understand her. "I was going to sit on the ceiling, but a chairs fine too." Daniel said, with a straight face, to Miss Wright and Sam couldn't tell if he was serious or making fun of Miss Wright. Miss Wright did the same smile again, and Sam wondered why she had become a teacher in the first place.

Daniel sat down enthusiastically. Sam didn't think it was possible to do that, but he managed it. He grinned at her and pulled out something that looked like a pencil and started tapping it on the table, muttering under his breath as he did so.

"What're you doing?" Sam asked, curious but not in a mean way. Shed know him for about thirty seconds and even with the pencil thing he seemed more normal than the other boys in her class- like Scott Williams who once tried to make a flamethrower out of hairspray and a lighter to get rid of a wasp and had set the fire alarms off.

"Magic." He said in a _duh_ tone.

"You sound funny." Sam accused, still groggy. "Nah, _you_ sound funny. I sound northern." "Wait, so, like, when you said magic...?" "Harry Potter." Daniel said instantly. "I thought you said your name was Daniel."

"No, like, _the_ Harry Potter." "Who?" Sam asked blankly. Daniel was shocked. "Mum said moving to London was gonna be different, but I didn't know it was gonna be this different."

"Harry James Potter. The Boy who Lived." He pulled a book out onto the table. "…I don't get it." Sam wondered for a second if she wasn't the only one with secrets.

Daniel talked about Harry Potter. Sam talked about blue boxes and alien planets. And somewhere in the middle they ended up being friends.

* * *

The tenth month was a shorter one compared to the others.

Same number of days, but it felt shorter. Sam was still looking, but spending more time with Dan. And that made all the difference.

Waiting with a friend.

* * *

The eleventh month was not full of Christmas joy or anything the adverts promised.

The streets were clogged with snow. But it was grey snow, not the picturesque snow advertised. Sam kicked a pile of snow as she sat on a park bench. It was cold. The sky was grey, the streets were foggy, her mood was lousy.

Eleven months. Eleven freaking months.

And sitting on that cold park bench Sam decided. That was it. No more waiting.

The Doctor wasn't coming back.

* * *

 **This chapter took longer basically because Ive had my head stuck in a revision book for about a three weeks now- I have exams coming up.**

 **Replies to reviews- this is a thing now!**

 **Guest: Verity- Reminds me of this article i saw about this guy called John Lewis who always gets tweeted at Christmas with the John Lewis -shop- advert tweets. Thanks for reviewing *Fistbumps laptop***

 **Guest: Xantho- Ive got a couple of ideas planned that I hope are original, but they wont appear for a while yet. As they say in Germany -or in my german textbook anyway- danke for your review.**

 **Nightflame203- Dude, two reviews! I never say dude but it seemed like a good time to say dude. Uh, to type dude. Ah, to ship or not to ship? That is the question. And to answer your question I do ship TenPetals -I dont know if theres another ship name but that's the one i first heard and i kinda like it. Thank you for your reviews!**


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